The visitors have reverted to a similar side that faced Benetton in the Challenge Cup two weeks ago.
The Lions have reverted to their full-strength team for their monster United Rugby Championship (URC) derby against the Stormers at Cape Town Stadium on Saturday afternoon (kick-off 3.30pm).
A second-string Lions team travelled to England last weekend to take on Newcastle Red Bulls in the Challenge Cup, with most of their star players left at home to make sure they are fresh for the Stormers game.
So although a completely different starting 15 will be lining up from the side that played in Newcastle, just one change has been made from the team that played Benetton in their Challenge Cup opener at Ellis Park a week earlier.
That being hooker PJ Botha, who returned from a lengthy injury which had kept him out for the start of the season, with Botha returning off the bench against Newcastle, and he now makes his first start of the campaign.
Franco Marais thus drops to the bench, where the only other changes to the match 23 that faced Benetton are seen, with lock Dylan Sjoblom and powerhouse flank Siba Qoma come in, to make it a six-two ‘bomb squad’ split on the bench, which is likely to combat the Stormers who are expected to do the same.
With the Lions back in URC action, they will be looking to bounce back after suffering a poor start to the Challenge Cup competition, losing against both Benetton and Newcastle in their two matches.
Loftus victory
But their last URC game, back in November, saw the Lions stun the Bulls 43-33 at Loftus and if they can produce a similar performance to that they should be able to challenge an in-form unbeaten Stormers team.
Lions assistant coach Jaque Fourie said the Stormers were a dangerous prospect with the way they played, and that they had a number of x-factor players, and the Lions would have to be at their best to get a win.
“They thrive off that unstructured type of game. If you don’t keep the ball and you’re not accurate, they can punish you from anywhere,” said Fourie.
“It’s about keeping the ball, being sharp with handling, and building pressure through phases. You don’t start a game against the Stormers by throwing the ball around. It’s like a (cricket) innings, you build it first.
“They’ve got effective players and we would be stupid not to look at that. But for us it’s about sticking to our structures, stopping momentum and working together. We’re going there with a mission. We want to go and beat the Stormers in Cape Town.”
Lions XV
Quan Horn, Kelly Mpeku, Erich Cronje, Bronson Mills, Eduan Keyter, Chris Smith, Morne van den Berg, Francke Horn (c), Ruan Venter, Jarod Cairns, Reinhard Nothnagel, Etienne Oosthuizen, Asenathi Ntlabakanye, PJ Botha, SJ Kotze
Bench: Franco Marais, Edward Davids, RF Schoeman, Dylan Sjoblom, Darrien Landsberg, Siba Qoma, Nico Steyn, Richard Kriel
